Exploration

Exploration is the act of searching an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it. It involves the discovery of new information. Human beings explore even when they have everything they need where they are.[1] They are the only mammal that does this.

About the same time, Hanno the Navigator was sent to explore the western coast of Africa. His periplus has survived and is one of the earliest surviving manuscripts.[7] The periplus records landmarks, ports and sailing distance between them. It is a guide for other ship captains to follow. Hanno's 60 ships moved south along the African coast. He may have reached as far as an island off the coast of Sierra Leone.[8] There is no record of any other explorations of the west Africa coast until the time of Henry the Navigator, the Portuguese explorer.[8]

About 982, the Norwegian Erik the Red explored Greenland.[13] In 986 he returned to Iceland, from where he sailed. He convinced others to follow him and founded the first settlement there. By the year 1000 there were a thousand settlers living there.[13] Erik's second of three sons, Leif Erikson was probably the first European to set foot on North America.[14] He landed at a place he called "Vinland".

Marco Polo (1254-1324) was a Venetianmerchant and explorer. He traveled across Asia during the height of the Mongol Empire. He was one of the first Europeans to explore Eastern Asia. He left Venice at age 17 with his father and uncle. They traveled what later became the Silk Road. They reached Cathay (China) where Marco Polo entered the court of Kublai Khan. He traveled and explored China for 24 years.[15] He brought back ivory, jade, jewels, porcelain and silk. He brought back many other things including noodles from China which the Italians called pasta.

This was a period in European history from the early 15th century to the early 17th century. During this relatively short period of time, the way Europeans saw the world was completely changed.[16] The European powers sent ships around the world to search for new trading routes. They were in search of trading goods such as gold, silver and spices. In the process, Europeans discovered new people and lands completely unknown to them. Some of the explorers of this age are:

Christopher Columbus was a Genoesenavigator and explorer in the employ of Isabella of Castile. Under the Portuguese flag in 1492 he sailed three ships to discover a trade route to asia. Instead he discovered the Americas. It was thought he was the first European to discover America, but Norse explorers had discovered the continent centuries earlier.[17] His discovery triggered a series of explorations by other Europeans. He made a total of four voyages. The cost was high among the native populations, many of which were wiped out completely.[17] They had no immunities to common diseases of Europe. As many as five million native Americans died due to disease, starvation and war with Europeans.[17]

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese mariner. He was the first European to sail to India via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.[18] He made three voyages to India via this new trade route. In 1497 he left Lisbon with four ships plus a storage ship of unknown name. No European explorer before him had sailed further than the place that is now called South Africa. Vasco da Gama sailed around the bottom of the African continent. His voyages put Portugal in a very powerful position to trade with India. The Portuguese set up outposts along the African coast.

James Cook was an English explorer, navigator and cartographer. Captain Cook made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean. He mapped many areas and recording several islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He explored the east coast of Australia. He discovered the Hawaiian Islands. He was also the first to map parts of Newfoundland and New Zealand. In 1769 he received a gift from a Polynesianpriest named Tupaia. It was a map of all the major islands of the South Pacific—the first any European had ever seen.[24] It matched what Cook had already explored and included other parts of the Pacific he had not seen. It allowed him to bring back an accurate map of the Pacific.

There are many reasons humans explore outer space. It was first explored with human eyes. Ancient men mapped the universe they could see. Then came the invention of telescopes. In the mid-twentieth century man actually began exploring space with rockets and Spacecraft. The most important reasons are scientific research and the interest of humans to learn more about the universe. Space exploration has developed new technologies. It has created new products and new industries.[25]